Marsh masters the Orient with a masterclass 117

When it was not politically incorrect to refer to the East as the “Orient,” the term served well to convey a sense of mystique, drama and danger. The seemingly opposite cultures of the Orient and the Occident offered a likely explanation for the East’s mysteries. The term, often applied to British India and the near East, came handy in defining the supple skills of the legendary Ranjitsinhji or providing the setting for an adventure novel.

A biography of Ranji noted he could on occasion outrun college marshals at Cambridge checking on delinquent undergraduates, reach his quarters and display an “oriental impassivity” when the proctors arrived. A captain he played under said the future Jamsahib of Nawanagar had an “oriental calm” with stillness punctuated with sudden action. The doyen of cricket writing Neville Cardus said Ranji’s game had elements of “oriental magic” and described him as a “light from the East.”

The Orient was also laced with perils that awaited the unwary traveller. A mission in the Orient was a challenge in a land of fakirs, jungles and raging fevers. In “Biggles in the Orient”, part of popular schoolboy fiction of yesteryears, the intrepid hero is sent on mission to Calcutta to uncover a secret weapon the Japanese have developed. Operating in the Orient, buzzing with spies and rife with malaria, was a murky task. Only the hardiest souls passed the test as Biggles and his mates did in a novel set in the WW II.

On Thursday evening, Mitchell Marsh passed his oriental test with flying colours. The temperature at Ahmedabad was 33 C and humidity a crushing 50%. The gladiatorial cauldron of the Narendra Modi stadium was even hotter as a stillness made sweat fall in rivulets. The strapping Australian was soaked to the skin but showed no signs of cramps or exhaustion as he powered to his first IPL century scoring 117 aided by a stupendous eight sixes and 10 fours, anchoring Lucknow Super Giants to 235. In the end, the score was a bridge too far for Gujarat Giants and the table toppers lost a second time to LSG.

It was a stern test though. Twice Marsh was struck painfully in the groin area just where there is no protection, once by the tall and lean Prasidh Krishna who works up a mean pace. The hurt was obvious as Marsh grimaced and walked around. But it was his day and the well-built Aussie retained his cheer, even offering sympathies to Krishna who was unable to hold onto a rocket that went through his hands. Quickly grasping the pace and bounce of the track, Marsh was relentless, instilling fear in GT bowlers and inducing mistakes he then pounced on.

Mastering Indian conditions is a different challenge altogether and the IPL is a harsh, unsparing test. The T20 format played under lights in evenings when the ground is radiating heat it has absorbed during the day is as demanding as it gets. Marsh is not the first foreign player to excel in such conditions. Indeed, overseas cricketers have done well, adjusting to specific environs at Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. But sheer power and relentless assault sets Marsh’s batting apart, making his innings special and spectacular.

Marsh has been around, playing for Australia in all three formats. He was appointed Australia’s T20 captain last year. His has been on song for LSG in the current IPL season but the final stamp of authority could not have come against a better opposition and at a more awe-inspiring venue. The Narendra Modi stadium is a massive amphitheatre and conquering its straight 75-metre boundaries repeatedly is an emphatic statement. Till he fell in the 18^th over, none of the GT bowlers could contain him. Not the pace and bite of Krishna, the length and movement of Mohammad Siraj, the line of Kagiso Rabada or the tricky angles of Sai Kishore. Marsh’s masterclass, it might be said, showed that he has mastered the Orient.

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